Top Lane

Smeb – ROX Tigers (23.9 FPPG/$8100)

From a DFS perspective, the ROX Tigers have one of the most favorable matchups in Day One. They enter World’s as Korea’s top seed for the first time after taking down KT Rolster in the 2016 LCK Summer Finals.

This is the best iteration of the Tigers we’ve ever seen heading into Worlds, and in large part that’s due to top laner, Song “Smeb” Kyung-ho.

Smeb is hands down the best top laner in the LCK and widely considered the best top laner in the world. His 4.7 KDA over 40 games in the LCK Summer Split is the most among any top laner in all regions with as many games played.

Smeb’s opponent on Day One is Albus Nox Luna, one of the two International Wildcard teams at Worlds this year. IWC teams have struggled in group stage, and we expect the same to occur here on Day One.

ANX’s best performing player will be Smeb’s lane opponent, Dmitri “Smurf” Ivanov. While he had a standout performance at this year’s IWQ, he’s an average top laner on the world stage at best.

Smeb is in a class all of his own and should put up big numbers.

Mouse – EDward Gaming (21.3 FPPG/$8000)

China’s number one seed, EDG, carries a lot of hype into Worlds. The team finished 16-0 during the Summer Split, taking down Team WE 3-2 in the semifinals before sweeping RNG 3-0 in the Summer Finals.

Mouse is still relatively new to the top lane position, but his skill and ability to adapt give him a high ceiling.

After spending the 2015 LPL Spring Split as the support for Deft, EDG decided to make Tian “meiko” Ye the full-time starter and move Mouse to a substitute role. After Tong “Koro1” Yang’s decline in performance, Mouse was inserted into the starting lineup and never looked back.

EDG’s Day One opponent is the second team from the IWC, INTZ e-Sports.

INTZ claimed their spot to Worlds after taking the number one seed in the CBLoL. They defeated Turkey’sDark Passage in a close series to punch their ticket.

INTZ will not be able to match up against EDG’s raw talent in each lane. Furthermore, EDG’s aggressive playstyle should allow them to put up some big fantasy numbers against INTZ.

Jungle

ClearLove – EDward Gaming (24.1 FPPG/$7900)

Ming “ClearLove” Kai is the key to how far EDG can go at Worlds. He enables everything this team does, and his influence on the performance of his team is almost unmatched by any one player in this tournament.

ClearLove has clearly (hehe) benefited from the death of lane swaps.

As long as he continues to focus on farming and pressuring lanes, EDG should have a great showing. Against INTZ, he has the chance to put up some of the highest numbers for junglers.

Trick – G2 eSports (22.7 FPPG/$7900)

G2 seized the opportunity at their first chance to play at Worlds, winning both the Spring and Summer EU LCS Splits. After a disappointing finish at MSI, G2 is looking to rebound and continue Europe’s tradition of making it to the quarters.

Europe’s top jungler will finally get his chance to show how he matches up with some of the best players in the world.

That starts with a tricky matchup against Counter Logic Gaming. Kang Yun “Trick” Kim has great synergy with Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen, and that could spell disaster for a relatively weak bottom lane for CLG.

Mid

Kuro – ROX Tigers (24.9 FPPG/$8400)

This high price tag is mostly related to ROX’s weak opponent.

However, Lee “Kuro” Seo-haeng shouldn’t be taken lightly at Worlds. He’s one of the veteran players in the tournament, and midlaners from Korea are always strong mechanically.

Kuro’s deep reservoir of champions has allowed him to continually evolve as a player, leaving his enemies guessing at what he’s going to play. This helped the ROX Tigers take home their first-ever LCK trophy this summer.

If you have the budget, expect big things from Kuro in the first week.

Bjergsen – Team SoloMid (25.7 FPPG/$7800)

The obvious choice would be to just load up on either ROX or EDG players, but considering Scout is a cool $8300, Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg is an entire $500 cheaper and will most likely put up similar numbers.

TSM will have a tough matchup against RNG, China’s number two seed. However, a close matchup isn’t exactly a bad thing. Bjergsen is a world class midlaner, and this young TSM team may look to him early for leadership.

The price is there, the potential is there: I like Bjergsen to come in and show why TSM is a contender at Worlds.

PraY – ROX Tigers (24.9 FPPG/$8300)

Yiliang Peter “Doublelift” Peng and Jian “Uzi” Zi-Hao will be facing each other, and that could get sloppy for either player.

Zven is a dark horse for G2, and Konstantinos “FORG1VEN” Tzortziou is just an unknown at this point.

PraY actually comes in with slightly favored upside compared to Deft (they’re playing ANX of course), but this is really a gut call. Both should put up big points.

Support

Meiko – EDward Gaming (19.3 FPPG/$7700)

See Deft: above. Meiko directly benefits from playing with the best ADC in the world. He’s skilled in his own right, but the job is just that much easier.

Again, if you have the budget try to load up on as many ROX/EDG players as possible.

Mithy – G2 eSports (18.8 FPPG/$7500)

Again, I want to caution that I strongly favor Kang “GorillA” Beom-hyeon and Meiko here, but if you’re a few hundred short on your budget, Alfonso “Mithy” Aguirre Rodriguez is a safe alternative. He’s been solid all year for G2, and Zven is no slouch.

Trick should provide plenty of pressure in his lane, and it’s not like CLG is scaring anyone right now.

Rachel is an avid gamer whose insatiable desire for all things gaming related has been augmented by the inconceivable growth of eSports and how competitive gaming is viewed. When she’s not busy writing about her favorite games, Rachel can be found playing League of Legends, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, or watching too much Twitch.tv.